Articles Posted inDefects

A false-claims lawsuit is in progress after whistleblower claims state that the ET-Plus guardrail systems were modified before installation, causing an impalement hazard when vehicles strike the devices. Therefore, Arlington, along with other Texas municipalities, has suspended installation of the guardrail systems until a lawsuit is settled and further testing is conducted.

Trinity Industries, the Dallas-based manufacturers of the system, remain adamant that the system is approved for use by the Federal Highway Administration (FHA); although, it has ceased shipment of any new systems until new safety testing can be completed as per request of the FHA.

The ET-Plus guardrail system is found on the ends of at least 12 guardrails in locations along Arlington highways. According to Texas Department of Transportation, there are no plans to remove existing guardrail systems, as they’re still approved for use.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a class I recall of over 100 lot numbers of CareFusion 203 ventilators after a power connection failure was observed in over 250 incidents. Reports list EnVe and ReVel models losing power and shutting off caused by a misalignment of pins where the external power connector meets the input port of the ventilator.

According to the recall notice, the misalignment could cause damage to the pins on the connector and potentially cause a short circuit, which could then prevent the internal battery from recharging and result in an unexpected loss of power. In turn, serious injury or death could result.

Medical professionals, including hospitals and equipment suppliers, were sent a product recall notice earlier this year identifying the lot numbers affected by the recall, which were distributed between December 10, 2010 and August 6, 2014. Device owners should have received a replacement power adapter accessory kits to fix the problem.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released notice of a voluntary recall and consumer notice nationwide for 10 brands of baby wipes manufactured by Nutek Disposables, Inc.

The recall was initiated after Nutek received complaints of discoloration and unusual odor coming from certain lots of wipes. Microbial testing conducted by Nutek revealed Burkholderia cepacia (B. cepacia) – a bacterial contamination in the abnormal wipes. After testing additional lots, Nutek made the announcement that they would voluntarily recall all of its baby wipe products.

A national recall has been issued for 7.8 million vehicles containing defective models of Takata airbag inflators. The defective inflators cause the airbag to explode and in several instances send shrapnel into the passenger cabin. At least four deaths and dozens of injuries have been attributed to the faulty airbags, which have been in use in vehicle model years from 2000 to 2011.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is urging the following vehicle manufacturers to issue recall notices to owners whose vehicles are potentially affected by the defective airbags.

The Safety Institute released the results of a study conducted on the ET-Plus® guardrail system using crash data from Missouri and Ohio that shows the system is more likely to cause injury and death than prevent it.

Victims such as Aaron Rausche, who was severely injured when his vehicle drifted off the road and was impaled, which caused severe damage to his legs. And Lisa Antonicelli, who had a seizure while driving on Highway 80 near Mesquite and hit a guardrail that tore through her car. She sustained major injuries that left her as a paraplegic.

On May 23, the Vascular Solutions company issued a voluntary nationwide recall of 40 lots of their Langston® V2 Dual Lumen Catheters. The company received two reports of incidents where the inner catheter separated from the hub during use, potentially entering the patient’s circulatory system. But in each report, the catheter was retrieved without injury.

The lots recalled were manufactured between January 2014 and April 2014 and included model numbers 5540 and 5550. Vascular Solutions estimates that a total of 8,580 of the recalled catheters were sold between March to May 2014 and approximately 3,847 were unused in the field as of July 3.

Car manufacturing company General Motors has recently come under fire for yet again recalling millions of vehicles for faulty parts. The most recent recall is for roughly 8.4 million vehicles to fix faulty ignition switches, including models made as far back as 1997. The latest recalls was brought on by three additional fatalities caused by the faulty switches. This latest recall makes a total of 28 million vehicles recalled by GM in the past year.

The models in GM’s latest recall have been connected to three fatalities, eight injuries and seven crashes. Their previous recall was brought on by the report that 13 fatalities had occurred due to GM’s faulty parts. In a statement made on Monday June 30, GM said the three latest deaths occurred in GM vehicles that were being recalled but it was unclear whether or not the ignition switches had been the cause of the accidents.

After receiving reports of faulty parts, GM released a statement that they underwent the most comprehensive safety review in the history of the company. GM CEO Mary Barra, who took on the role in early January just before GM disclosed the first round of recalls, has stated she plans to act immediately to any issues with any of their vehicles and keep the safety of GM customers as the top priority.

A recent product recall serves as a reminder that even mundane items like cabinet knobs can be hazardous if not properly manufactured. Cost Plus World Market is recalling 251,400 glass bubble knobs after five reports of injury.

Consumers who purchased the hazardous knobs reported that if the knobs break, they can become jagged pieces of glass which have caused hand and finger lacerations. No deaths have been reported and the company has issued a recall of the defective knobs. The knobs came in six colors (blue, pink, green, smoke, amethyst, and clear) and came in a 1.25-inch size and a 0.75-inch size.

There are three Cost Plus World Market stores in the Dallas area: Turtle Creek, Old Towne, and Galleria North. If you purchased a glass bubble knob at these stores between October 2010 and April 2014 you can return them to any World Market store for a full refund. If you were injured by a broken knob you should visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) website to report the incident.

Food allergies can cause severe reactions in some people, and can be extremely dangerous. This is one of the reasons that food products are required to list ingredients. In April 2014, several foods are being recalled due to ingredients not listed on the packaging.

Wegman’s Food Markets is recalling Easter bread, which contains eggs, not listed on the package. Unlisted eggs were also the cause of a recall of Mini Butter Croissants at Whole Foods. Egg allergies are common among children, and reactions can be dangerous.

Hickory Farms Farmstand Recipe Chipotle Ranch Sauce was recently found to contain milk that was not listed among ingredients declared on the label. Milk is also present in the White Bean Hummus produced and sold by Price Chopper. Lactose intolerance can cause millions of people to develop intestinal distress when they consume products containing milk.

As you may know from recent news reports, General Motors is currently involved in extensive litigation over 13 deaths that plaintiffs argue were caused by a faulty ignition switch on their GM manufactured vehicles. The allegedly defective switches were manufactured for GM by Delphi Automotive and have been used in an estimated 2.6 million cars which are now subject to recall to replace the defective switches. Of the defective vehicles, about 30,000 are currently being repaired, with the others scheduled for repairs down the line, as a judge recently declined to issue a “park it now” warning which would have taken all 2.6 million cars off the road immediately.

The plaintiffs allege that the defective switch could easily be bumped by a driver’s knee and when moving one’s right foot form the gas pedal to the break and that bumping the ignition switch would case the cars to suddenly turn off, depriving their drivers of the ability to control the vehicles, resulting in several serious crashes, including the 13 deaths.

What may be particularly disturbing about the current faulty ignition switch issue is that GM knew about it for a decade and didn’t do anything about it until the recall they issued in February 2014 after multiple federal investigations, including a criminal probe, were launched to look into the issue. In fact a recently released memorandum from the Committee on Energy and Commerce states:

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